A sales company is only as good as its sales reps, which is why it’s vital to hold on to top performers. Star employees drive sales, increase revenues and influence their colleagues to succeed. Not only can losing a quality worker be bad for company morale, it can be extremely costly, too. Turnover costs A study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management found that direct turnover costs add up to 50-60 percent of an employee’s salary. When an employee takes off for a new job, companies have to spend time, energy and money on the recruitment process, all while feeling the impact of decreased sales. On average, the recruitment and hiring process takes eight weeks, during which time other employees have to pick up the slack. Even after a replacement has been found, companies will continue to feel the financial impact of a top salesperson’s departure, as it usually takes at least a few weeks to fully train a new hire. To prevent chronic turnover, companies need to focus on developing an incentive plan that will retain employees and encourage high performance from everyone at the office. Incentivize a workforce A manager should never let a sales force feel unappreciated, and considering the fact that it is usually a small number of people who bring in the most sales, it is extremely important to make sure high-performers know they are valued. A strong incentive compensation plan shows individuals their work is being noticed, and that VPs of sales recognize and are grateful for their hard work. Bonuses and sales prizes are an excellent way to reward team members, but when an employee constantly goes above and beyond the call of duty and pulls in big numbers for a company, it may be time to consider a merit increase. Considering how important employee retention is, many VPs of sales and HR professionals have begun using incentive compensation software, which can help a company decide how to best reward a sales team.
